Teaching or training batters in baseball is an extremely difficult task and the better batters have developed a "snap" to the stroke at impact resulting from a "posting" of the lower grip on the bat and a sudden surge or thrust with the upper hand. While this is appreciated in strobe light and photographic analysis of batting, it requires a tactile experience to show, exaggerate or synthesize the movement of the bat in the hands of the practicing batter. The present device seeks to develop the precision of movement in a gradual and tactile manner which forces the batter to gently appreciate and develop the acceleration of the bat needed to establish a power impulse effective on the ball.
In the prior art weighted bats have been used as exemplified in the recent U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,816 to Leonard R. Bratt directed to a warm-up bat in which the weight and location of the weight could be varied. While this has a good feature in warm-up, it does not train the batter to accelerate the bat at a precise time during the swing. A similar type of device was earlier seen in golf club trainers as described by Garland P. Atkinson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,428,325. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,894, William F. Salisbury proposed a bat for practice in which selected portions of the striking surface were reduced and a striking zone was established for visibility during swing and at impact. A shock reduction feature was included but the two hands of the batter did not receive separate but coordinated stressing as will be found present in the devices of the present invention. Another category of prior art structures is exemplified in the instructional batting device of Minden Vaughan Blake in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,887 in which a mass is caused to shift position under the dynamics and centrifugal effect of a swing. None of these devices are seen to have the unusual ability to train mediocre batters to accelerate their stroke by proper coordinated leverage and usage of both hands to establish a "snap" action at that portion of the swing where impact is desired and to teach the top hand to drive the head of the bat ahead of the lower hand and in front of the body of the batter.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new coaching tool in baseball which adapts itself to the individual batting styles of players but teaches them to achieve a proper acceleration at the impact portion of the swing and adjusted to their own stance and posture. It is a training tool that employs a natural expedient in coordinating the function of the two hands and with the shoulders, wrists and arms acting to provide a dynamic and dramatic upgrading of stroke.
A further object is to provide a training tool which frees the coach from intensive and exhaustive theoretical discussion and allows the trainee, through practice, to intuitively reach a full appreciation of what is needed to enhance the quality of batting by use of the present invention.
The device under test has provided a measurable improvement in batting training and has been lauded by mediocre players for developing timing and coordination to the end of increase to proper bat velocity and acceleration.
Another object is to provide a practice bat which, when swung, immediately explains in a tactile experience the need and means for coordinated hand, wrist and arm and shoulder action in batting at imaginary targets or balls as well as at actual pitching. Since the contribution of the present practice bat is to enhance the velocity of the bat at the impact portion of the swing, it is of substantial assistance to all players. The present invention is equally instructive in all batting type games and while intended primarily as a baseball batting trainer, it is useful in softball, hardball, cricket and the like where an articulated joint intermediate two aligned hand grip surfaces is possible.
In general the present invention is a practice bat for use in baseball and other batting sports and the bat has three principal parts, a head portion, a grip portion and an articulating intermediate joint normally securing the head portion, the grip portion and the articulating joint, in axial alignment. The joint may be flexed by differential thrust applied at the grip portion and at the head portion. The grip portion accommodates the full grip of the lower hand of a batter. In a left handed hitter the lower hand is the right hand. In a right handed hitter the lower hand is the left hand. Then the upper hand of the batter is on the other side of the joint and gripping the head portion at its lowermost end. As will be seen, the upper hand must lead the lower hand to provide good quality batting and maximum bat velocity at impact of bat to ball.
When thus gripped, the bat provides a unique tactile sensation when swung by a batter toward a real or imaginary target. The lower hand tends to "post" and the upper hand overruns the lower hand imparting a leverage and acceleration to the impact portion of the bat that can be immediately comprehended by a batter in coordination of hands in the swing. By practicing with the bat, users improve their hand coordination, wrist and forearm strength, and improve their batting by producing better bat acceleration at impact and thereby hitting longer balls. A bumper is provided on both sides of the articulated joint so that as the head portion overruns the grip portion the hands and/or fingers will not be pinched. The experiences with the training bat are then transferred effectively to actual bats on the playing fields.
In the manufacture of the practice bat of the present invention the articulated joint is a resilient element such as a coil spring with the ends of the spring being secured to the handle and to the head portion in cylindrical recesses which extend axially into the grip and head portions, respectively. The spring element is fastened in place transversely through the grip and head portions and the fasteners or pins extend radially through the axial center line of grip and head and through the spring element. A potting resin imbeds the spring and fasteners in situ and secures them to the bats against shock and withdrawal. The potting resin is preferably a dimensionally stable epoxy resin mixed with suitable hardeners and with or without fillers, as required. The epoxies provide a hard, tough matrix when cured in situ. This anchors the ends of the spring in place in the axial openings in the adjacent ends of the head and grip portions. The adhesive capabilities of the epoxy resins is also helpful in prevention of the spring from working free of the connection in practice. Bumpers in the form of annular rings are secured at the adjacent ends of the head and grip elements and may be bound or adhered to the material forming the bat. A silicone rubber bumper is easily formed and may be stretched into place or are molded and are then attached to the bat.
The spring element allows flexure as between the head portion and the grip portion and hence bridges the axial gap between the head and grip. The lower end of the head provides a grip surface for the upper hand. The grip portion provides a grip surface for the lowermost hand. The bat may be made from wood, metal or plastic material or may be laminated in the manner of forming baseball or other bats. The spring may be of any resilient material having selected strength and energy storing characteristics.
In usage the practice bat is gripped with both hands as a real bat and is swung on real or imaginary targets and the flexure at the joint teaches the general "posting" of the lower hand and "snap-through" of the upper hand with wrist and forearm strain. This stressing teaches the proper coordination of hands and body to strike the ball and to follow-through with proper acceleration. The practice bat adapts to existing movement, postural and stance characteristics of the individual batter. Accordingly, the practice bat does not destroy style but enhances velocity. A few swings and an appreciation of proper form is imparted to the hitter. With additional practice with given style and strength, the practice bat improves the performance of the batter. As will be appreciated, the invention is applicable to all two handed sports involving a bat or club such as used in baseball, cricket, golf and the like.